The Giants on Sunday return to Glendale, Ariz., where they won the Super Bowl in February. And they will return a better team by almost any measure.
What made the Giants special last season was the way they came together and elevated their game in January. We don't know if this Giants team can do that. But it might not have to elevate as much to reach as high as it did last season.
The Giants' improvement is truly remarkable when considering the amount of talent this team lost before the season. Free-agent departures included linebacker Kawika Mitchell and safety Gibril Wilson. Defensive end Michael Strahan retired, and fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora was lost for the season with a knee injury. Tight end Jeremy Shockey was traded.
And the only starter the team added was journeyman linebacker Danny Clark from Country Club Hills and the University of Illinois.
So is it possible the Giants are a more talented team? Giants general manager Jerry Reese thinks so - though he says the statistics mean nothing and the Super Bowl trophy means everything.
"The talent level could be better this year in a few ways, but it's hard to fix your mouth to say that guys are better than Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora," Reese said. "But in some ways we are better, because a lot of our young players last year have more experience."
Among the young players Reese says are playing better than last year are quarterback Eli Manning, left tackle Dave Diehl, tight end Kevin Boss, wide receiver Steve Smith, defensive ends Mathias Kiwanuka and Justin Tuck, defensive tackle Barry Cofield, linebacker Chase Blackburn, safeties Michael Johnson and James Butler and cornerback Aaron Ross.
Said Reese, "I can go on and on."
What is clear is the Giants have drafted well. And as importantly, they have developed players well.
They also have become more sophisticated offensively because they have had stability on the coaching staff and in the lineup.
"We're running the same type of plays, the same offense, but we're able to do different things scheme-wise, protection-wise to change things up and try to keep defenses guessing," said Diehl, an alum of Brother Rice and Illinois who has become more comfortable in his second season at left tackle after playing both guard positions and right tackle previously.
The Giants' only significant loss on offense was Shockey, and some believe that might have been addition by subtraction given Shockey's flair for the dramatic. Diehl believes the chemistry is even better than that on the team that won the Super Bowl.
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